Georgia Crick
Eng 102 Davis
Short Story Essay Revision
May 6, 2013
Elements of a Southern Atmosphere in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”Though the short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” differ in plot, theme, voice, and many other aspects, both contain similar characters and settings. The authors of these highly acclaimed Southern Gothic works, have skillfully and eloquently created intricate characters and imagery that portray many elements of Southern life. Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” tells of the tragic events that take place during a family’s road trip to Tennessee, which ultimately ends in their unsightly demise at the hands of a notorious serial killer. Equally as morbid, William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” takes place following the death of well-to-do woman Emily Grierson, as a town recounts her bizarre and insane behavior throughout her lifetime, and makes a gruesome discovery of a rotting corpse in her bedroom. Throughout both stories, O’Connor and Faulkner employ the use of various literary techniques, and successfully create typically southern atmospheres.

Throughout “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor consistently uses the physical setting as a means of conveying a Southern atmosphere. In the opening passages, it is revealed that the family is traveling from Atlanta, Georgia to east Tennessee, communicating that the story takes place in a Southern region. O’Connor mentions at several points the locations of the family’s journey through the southern states, writing, “Bailey and the children’s mother and the baby sat in front and they left Atlanta at eight forty-five” (406), and the Grandmother describes her native state of Georgia, saying, “Tennessee has the mountains and Georgia has the hills” (O’Connor 406). Also, at the beginning of their journey, the family passes cotton fields and a plantation, scenery which is inherently Southern. O’Connor describes the scene as, “a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. ‘Look at the graveyard,’ the grandmother said, pointing it out. ‘That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation’” (407). Cotton fields and plantations were commonplace throughout the old south, and are indicative of Southern culture. Historically, cotton was one of the South’s most crucial economic resources, and the South was heavily dependent on large plantations and slavery to produce this highly valued crop. Later along their route, the family stops “at The Tower for barbeque sandwiches” (O’Connor 407). The Tower is described as “part stucco and part wood filling station and dance hall set in a clearing outside of Timothy. A fat man named Red Sammy Butts ran it and there were signs stuck here and there on the building and for miles up and down the highway saying, TRY RED SAMMY’S FAMOUS BARBECUE” (O’Connor 407). O’Connor’s mention of barbecue, a classic Southern cuisine, and detailed description of the restaurant, help to create a deeper sense of immersion into Southern culture.

Much like O’Connor, William Faulkner also heavily emphasizes details of the setting in an effort to depict an atmosphere representative of the South. Set in the fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi, “A Rose for Emily” begins almost immediately by providing imagery of Emily Grierson’s grand antebellum home, which Faulkner describes as “a big squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies” (244). He then elaborates, writing, “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood; only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagon and the gasoline pumps” (244). Both Emily’s house and the surrounding cotton gins are characteristics that are...

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O'Connnor uses symbolism and irony in several places throughout the story in "A GoodMan is Hard to Find". The story starts with a road trip of Bailey family that shows irony with many symbols throughout the story, most of which involve death. For example, the family passed a large cotton field with about five or six graves and there are six members of the Bailey family. The graves are described as "fenced in the middle of it, like a small island" (499) and are showed when they are surrounded by the Misfit and his henchmen. Another important symbol that is shown is that the plantation house with six white columns after they pass the town of Toombsboro which suggest a tomb or a graveyard. The most important symbol is that they travel down a dirt road that is full of hills and has ''sudden washes," (500) with sharp curves which is parallel to a road towards Hell. After the Baileys stop at an accident, a new chain of symbols occur. At first glance of the Misfit; he is described as a...

...Important Aspects In "A GoodMan Is Hard To Find" In "A GoodMan Is Hard To Find," Flannery O'Connor hints that the story will involve coincidence. She tells us in the opening paragraph that the grandmother has second thoughts about traveling to Florida for a vacation because she has a bad feeling about a loose Misfit she had read about in a news article. This foreshadows the trouble to come, and coincidence advances the plot in the direction of this trouble.
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A GoodMan Is Hard to Find
Abstract
Flannery O’Conner’s “A GoodMan Is Hard to Find”, is an intriguing story of a typical American family from the mid-20th century who set out on a vacation to Florida. The reader is taken on a journey along with the family meeting new people and learning of events that unfold before them. However, after taking an unwanted turn down a winding road, the family comes face to face with a violent criminal. A family vacation turns awry.
Despite her incurable terminal disease of Lupus, Flannery O’Conner was a fictional Southern writer who found short stories like this to be comical yet serious. O’Conner was raised Roman Catholic, and at times found ways to incorporate religion into her stories.
Within this short story, O’Conner used a feminist style of writing. Gender roles are contrasted and very distinct. Often times, she used foreshadowing to set off clues to the reader of what might happen next or even later in the story. Moreover, O’Conner was a brilliant writer depicting scenes of grotesque, deformity, or mutilation most likely that had arisen from her own fight with her lifelong terminal illness.
A GoodMan Is Hard to Find (c.1955)
Flannery O’Conner born in Georgia and a strong believer in her Roman Catholic faith has been known to write...

... G00306874
Ryan/ENGL 1302/S15
July 26, 2015
The Function of Biblical Allusions about Faith and Morals in
"A GoodMan is Hard to Find"
“A GoodMan is Hard to Find” might just be a closer look at an individual human’s behavior, the moral codes they live by, tendencies and what is really taken into account as being genuinely good. Although it might seem like “The Misfit” might have been the evil person here, and the entire reference to the title of the short story, we can’t deny a closer look at the rest of the characters and their own “evil” ways; the manipulative and arrogant grandmother, June Star, the grandmother’s granddaughter and a nasty spoiled brat, John Wesley, June’s 8 year old brother, who is also spoiled and almost as nasty as June, Bailey, the grandmother’s only son and father of the children who does not discipline his children or have any control of his household, and lastly the mother and the baby, who don’t play much of a role in the story, other than to keep each other preoccupied with one another. The main concentration in the short story “A GoodMan is Hard to Find” is the discussion between “The Misfit” and the grandmother which alludes strongly to what the she considers genuine solid faith, her twisted view about what makes a good person and how it is finally...

...﻿Jada Gardner
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Society and Class in “A GoodMan is Hard to Find”
In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A GoodMan is Hard to Find” the grandmother and the Misfit become the main focus even though the other characters are involved in the story. Throughout the entire story, The Misfit is portrayed as the symbol of evil because he was in jail; he escaped from jail, and he committed murders. The grandmother believes to be greater than the people that she are around because of the “good” that she portrays. The conventional meaning of good, or possessing or displaying moral virtue, is not the particular good that the grandmother is trying to portray throughout the story. The grandmother believes that good is portrayal of a social class. Throughout the short story, O’Connor portrays “good” from a social class aspect rather than from the conventional aspect, through the grandmother.
As an elderly woman who was born in another generation, the grandmother doesn’t understand why her family members do certain things that they don’t. In the beginning of the story, the grandmother is obsessed with worldly things. She always cares for how people perceive her. She wants to go to Tennessee, so she can be connected with her roots; however her family wants to...

...﻿REE STUDY GUIDE: A GOODMAN IS HARD TO FIND
SHORT STORY SUMMARIES WITH NOTES / ANALYSIS
A GOODMAN IS HARD TO FIND
CHARACTER LIST
The Grandmother
An old lady with old fashioned ideas and manners. The grandmother is directive, talkative, a bit silly, and full of herself. She also can be manipulative. She considers herself a good person, and a kind one, and she loves her family, but is also selfish--though she wouldn't see herself this way. She is not very aware.
Bailey
The old woman's son. He is impatient with her, a bit silly himself, and angry a lot of the time. He wants to be in charge, but has a limited grip on things.
The mother
The wife of Bailey. She is a young mother who is doing what all young mothers do. She watches her kids, more or less, and is a bit vacant. As a character, she is not especially filled out.
John Wesley and June Star
The children, both of them little smart-asses. They are wild, will say just about anything, and are relentless whiners. They fight, manipulate their parents to get their way, and make fun of the grandmother often.
The Misfit
An escaped convict who looks 'educated,' and apparently killed his own father. He is gray-haired, smart--and chillingly exact. He is also polite, and can kill without much remorse.
Hiram and Bobby Lee
The Misfit's cohorts. They are younger, and do as...

...Sarah Setley
Dual Enrollment
Period 3
February 6, 2011
"A GoodMan is Hard to Find" by Flannery O' Connor
While the concept of grace seems like the last theme in this story of murder and selfishness, it is actually represented quite frequently and as a big part of the story line. "A GoodMan is hard to Find" focuses mainly on the personalities and traits of the two main characters, grandma and The Misfit. These two seem like complete opposites, which creates for a very intriguing comparison when it comes to their intelligence and capacity for grace in this short story. The Misfit displays a clear superiority in intelligence through his behavior and actions. The Misfit also has an obvious capacity for grace that exceeds the grandmother by analyzing his thoughts and conversations with the grandmother.
The readers can infer that some of the grandmother's traits are being close-minded and selfish. She lies to her grandchildren, complains about how the present times cannot even compare to the superiority of the past, and manipulates her son. The grandmother displays no self-awareness and is not open to reality and the current world around her. During the conversation moments before the grandmother was shot, her words prove these previous points. She portrays obvious ignorance when she attempts to convince the Misfit that he would never do this and that killing a...

...Compare/Contrast Character Analysis Paper
A GoodMan is Hard to Find: The Misfit and The Grandmother
"A GoodMan Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor, depicts a contrast of good and evil however, it shows how the enactment of good and evil is not as evident as it appears. The Grandmother perceives herself as a moralistically good character though her actions deem to create a downfall for the family. On the other hand the misfit is targeted at the audience as an evil character who is a cold-blooded killer; his intentions are justified by his unworldly perceptions of people.
The grandmother is the central character in the story. The grandmother is a manipulative, deceitful, and self-serving woman who lives in the past. She doesn't value her life as it is, but glorifies what it was like long ago. This woman will do whatever it takes to get what she wants and she doesn't let anyone else's feelings stand in her way. She tries to justify her demands by convincing herself and her family that her way is the best way and really the only way. The grandmother is determined to change her family's vacation destination as she tries to manipulate her son into going to Tennessee instead of Florida. She began trying to make Bailey, her son, feel guilty about the children's safety. The grandmother says that "she couldn't answer to...

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